Daesh Uses Poisonous Gas in Attack on Iraqi Forces in Mosul

The Daesh (outlawed in Russia) terrorist group has deployed poisonous gas while fighting Iraqi government forces in Mosul, local media said Monday.

Daesh militants fired mortar shells containing a blue-colored poisonous gas in Mosul’s Bab al-Toob district, the Rudaw channel reported.

The shells landed close to Rudaw’s camera crew, with footage showing soldiers and crew members suffocating a minute after the plume of smoke appeared.

On March 3, media reported that chemical weapons had been used during a fight between Daesh militants and Iraqi troops in eastern Mosul.

Following the reports, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) said 12 patients were referred to hospitals showing symptoms consistent with exposure to a toxic chemical agent. The number has since risen to 15.

Iraq’s Ambassador to the United Nations Ali Al Hakim told reporters on Friday that Iraq did not have any evidence that Daesh had used chemical weapons in the city of Mosul.

The operation to recapture Mosul, the key stronghold of Daesh in Iraq, began in October 2016 and resulted in the liberation of Mosul’s eastern part this January, but fighting continues in the city’s western areas.

SPUTNIK

R.S